A crossdresser, a cab and a knife

A 23-year-old Kentucky resident told police he hailed a cab outside a McDonalds at 36 W. Randolph St. at 1 a.m. Friday, Aug. 3 only to find a man dressed like a woman holding a knife in the back seat.

The Louisville native said he had been at the bar with some college friends and was outside the McDonalds when a taxi pulled up and asked if he needed a ride. A man in the back seat dressed as a woman, with blond hair and dark roots, pulled a knife and demanded his money. When he told the suspect that he only had a debit card, the cab drove him to an ATM machine where he withdrew $40.

He told police the suspect also at the same time used his own debit card at the same ATM machine to withdraw some money. The victim told police he jumped out of the cab at a red light on State Street and walked back to his hotel to call police.

Punched after bump

A 68-year-old Chicago man was punched in the face after accidentally bumping a much younger man in the 200 block of South State Street at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1. Witnesses told police they saw the offender punch the victim on the left side of his face.

Rickety escape plan

A policeman was struck by a rickshaw driver trying to escape a traffic ticket after a chase around 8 p.m. Sunday Aug. 5.

Police said the rickshaw driver ran a red light at Madison Street and Michigan Avenue and after being pulled over, took off and fled westbound on Adams. He then took a U-turn and returned east to Michigan Avenue and turned onto the sidewalk where he was met by two police officers.

The driver then slammed into one officer, injuring his forearm and wrist. Police charged the man, a 23-year-old from Park Ridge, with aggravated battery.

Raped near Wacker

An 18-year-old Deerfield woman told police she was raped sometime between 6 and 6:45 p.m. Saturday Aug. 4 in an alley somewhere near the 200 block of South Wacker Drive.

Police responding to a call for help found the woman sitting on the ground at Wacker and Adams. Police said the victim was too distraught to give many details of the attack at that time. She was taken to Northwestern Hospital for treatment.

Lollapalooza gatecrashers arrested

Three gatecrashers at the Lollapalooza music festival were arrested trying to crash the gate at 5:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3.

Police said the three men were among 20 people who jumped the fence at 120 South Lake Shore Drive and then hurdled a second barrier. Police arrested a 19-year-old Texas man and charged him with resisting arrest after he struggled when officers attempted to put him in handcuffs.

Police also arrested an 18-year-old Mt. Greenwood man after he threw a police officer into a tree, causing lacerations and a shoulder injury. He then allegedly ran into a 36-year-old man from Elgin and his 39-year-old wife.

The woman was later treated for back pain and the Mt. Greenwood man was charged with resisting arrest and battery. Police also charged a 20-year-old Wrigleyville man with violating park district code for hopping the fence.

Phone, wallet stolen

A 42-year-old man from New York was walking back to his hotel with three friends at 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 2 in the 200 block of North LaSalle Street when he was robbed of his iPhone and wallet.

Police said the man was walking a little apart from his friends when a man approached him and started a conversation. A second man then grabbed him from behind and held him in a bear hug while another offender reached in his front pocket, removed his phone and reached in his rear pocket and took his wallet.

The men fled and the victim continued on to his hotel, where he called police. Police reported that someone used one of the stolen credit cards at an unknown 7-Eleven.

This summary contains information taken from the arrest records from the 1st District of the Chicago Police Department. Anyone named has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not yet been adjudicated.